[7] On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.

[13] On 5 June 2021, the first positive PCR test result in the Cook Islands was obtained, but it was determined to be a non-infectious historical case.

[17] On 3 December 2021, the Cook Islands Government confirmed a ten year old had returned a 'weak positive' COVID-19 test result after arriving in the Cook Islands managed isolation quarantine, and was initially suspected as being a new case as the child had tested negative prior to departing New Zealand.

In response, the Cook Islands Health Ministry (Te Marae Ora) also confirmed that 18 close contacts had tested positive for COVID-19 while in quarantine and had been placed in isolation.

[26][27] On 26 March, Prime Minister Henry Puna announced that 'Code Yellow' measures would be in place in the islands, by which public gatherings are restricted.

[28] On 15 August, the Government has temporarily closed its air borders to any travellers in response to the re-emerging of COVID-19 cases in Auckland, New Zealand.

[32] Within the first 5 days of following the Alert Level being raised 1788 PCR swabs for COVID-19 tests were processed targeting all passengers who arrived in the Cook Islands during 2–16 August 2021.

[33] On 13 March 2022, Prime Minister Brown announced several major changes to the island nation's travel policies in response to changes in New Zealand's COVID-19 mitigation policies: On 30 March, the Cook Islands Government announced that Australian citizens could enter the country from 12 April, followed by all other travellers from 1 May.

In addition, the Government dropped QR code scanning requirements, lifted restrictions on contact sports, introduced an "Essential Worker Pass" allowing people to leave quarantine to work if they tested negative daily, and created a "Green Freedom Pass" for people who had recovered from COVID-19.

[35] As of August 2021, the pandemic has resulted in mixed experiences in the Cook Islands, with some residents reporting it to have been a 'welcome respite' from normally high-levels of international tourism.

[36][37] By 30 March 2022, the Cook Island's Tourism Council President Liana Scott reported that COVID-19 travel restrictions had reduced hotel occupancy rates to between 25 and 30 percent throughout that month.